Anti-turn-back twist mop

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides an anti-turn-back twist mop including a main handle, a holding sleeve, a mop cloth and a clutch member. The holding sleeve is up and down movably and rotatably fitting over the main handle. Two ends of the mop cloth are respectively connected with the main handle and the holding sleeve. When rotating the main handle and holding sleeve relative to each other, the mop cloth can be wrung dry. The clutch member is fitting over the main handle and movable therealong. When rotating the main handle, the clutch member is rotated along therewith. A bottom end of the clutch member and a top end of the holding sleeve are respectively formed with ratchets engaged with each other. By means of the engagement between the clutch member and holding sleeve, when wringing the mop cloth, the main handle is prevented from being rotated back by the pulling force of the mop cloth.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to a cleaning device, and more particularly to an anti-turn-back twist mop in which the main handle is prevented from turning back in wringing process.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a conventional twist mop 10, which includes a main handle 12 and a holding sleeve 14 fitting over the main handle 12. The holding sleeve 12 can move along and rotate about the main handle 12. The twist mop 10 further includes a mop cloth 16. A first end of the mop cloth 16 is fixedly connected to a bottom end 121 of the main handle 12, while a second end of the mop cloth 16 is fixedly connected to a bottom end 141 of the holding sleeve 14. In use, the holding sleeve 14 is moved toward the bottom end 121 of the main handle 12 to suspend the mop cloth 16 so as to mop the ground. When the mop cloth 16 absorbs water, the holding sleeve 14 is moved upward to strain the mop cloth 16 as shown in FIG. 1. Then a user can hold the holding sleeve 14 with one hand and hold the main handle 12 with the other hand, so that the holding sleeve 14 is able to rotate relatively to the main handle 12 to wring the mop cloth 16 out.

Within certain limits of wrist twists, the user must release the main handle 12 and adjust his/her wrist back to re-hold the main handle 12 for next twist after the main handle 12 is rotated to a certain angle.

During the wringing process, the mop cloth 16 will exert a reaction force onto the main handle 12. As soon as the main handle 12 is released, the reaction force of the mop cloth 16 will bring the main handle 12 turning back. This makes it more laborious and time-consuming to wring the mop cloth 16 dry. To overcome this problem, another conventional twist mop is equipped with an anti-turn-back mechanism for avoiding turn-back of the main handle. By means of the anti-turn-back mechanism, the main handle can be positioned after rotation to prevent turning back by the mop cloth. However, such anti-turn-back mechanism is quite complicated and hard to manufacture, and inconvenient to use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an anti-turn-back twist mop in which the main handle is prevented from turning back in wringing process.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide the above anti-turn-back twist mop in which the anti-turn-back mechanism is simplified to manufacture and use.

To achieve the above and other objects, the anti-turn-back twist mop according to the present invention includes a main handle, a holding sleeve, a mop cloth and a clutch member. The holding sleeve is up and down movably and rotatably fitted on the main handle. When rotating the main handle and holding sleeve relative to each other, the mop cloth can be wrung dry. The clutch member is fitting over the main handle and movable therealong. When rotating the main handle, the clutch member is rotated along therewith. Bottom end of the clutch member and top end of the holding sleeve are respectively formed with ratchets engaged with each other. The twist mop further includes a restriction member disposed between the clutch member and the holding sleeve. The restriction member only permits the clutch member to move relative to the holding sleeve without substantially detaching therefrom. Two ends of the mop cloth are respectively connected with the bottom end of the holding sleeve and the bottom end of the main handle. By means of rotating the main handle and the holding sleeve relative to each other, the mop cloth can be wrung dry. By means of the engagement between the clutch member and holding sleeve, when wringing the mop cloth, the main handle is prevented from being rotated back by the pulling force of the mop cloth.

The present invention can be best understood through the following description and accompanying drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a conventional twist mop;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a twist mop according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view according to FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective explosion view of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a bottom of the twist mop according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an enlargement view according to FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 7-7 according to FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view according to an enlarged part of FIG. 6, in which a main handle is shown by phantom lines;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the twist mop in the wringing process;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view referring to FIG. 8, showing the movement of a clutch member is engaged with a holding sleeve;

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view referring to FIG. 10, showing that the clutch member is disengaged from the holding sleeve;

FIG. 12 is a partially longitudinal cross-sectional view of a second embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a third embodiment according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a perspective explosion view of the third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a partially longitudinal cross-sectional view according to FIG. 13;

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view according to an enlargement part of FIG. 15, in which the main handle is shown by phantom lines; and

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view referring to FIG. 16, showing that the clutch member is disengaged from the holding sleeve.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Please refer to FIGS. 2 to 4 illustrating a first embodiment according to the present invention. A twist mop 20 includes a main handle 30, a holding sleeve 40, a mop cloth 50, a clutch member 60 and a restriction member 70.

The main handle 30 has an outer circumference formed with a polygonal fitting section 32 along a part of the length of the main handle 30 as shown in FIG. 4 or along the entire length of the main handle 30. A ring cap 35 is fixed at a bottom end of the main handle 30.

Please refer to FIG. 4. An inner circumference of a top end of the holding sleeve 40 is formed with a circle of ratchets 42. A circular tray 45 is disposed at a bottom end of the holding sleeve 40. The holding sleeve 40 fits over the main handle 30. The holding sleeve 40 longitudinally moves along the main handle 30, which means the holding sleeve 40 is up and down movable along the main handle 30. The holding sleeve 40 rotates about the main handle 30.

The mop cloth 50 includes several side-by-side arranged cloth strips 52. A top end of the mop cloth 50 is fixed with the circular tray 45 of the holding sleeve 40, while a bottom end of the mop cloth 50 is intruded into a bottom section of the ring cap 35 as shown in FIG. 5. A fastening strap 38 is passed through two through holes 37 of the ring cap 35, two through holes 34 of the bottom end of the main handle 30 and the bottom end of the mop cloth 50 to tie up the mop cloth 50 with the ring cap 35.

The clutch member 60 is a hollow cylindrical body. An engaging section 62 is disposed on an inner circumference of the clutch member 60 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. The engaging section 62 has a cross-sectional shape complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the fitting section 32 of the main handle 30. An annular rib 64 is disposed on an outer circumference of the clutch member 60. A circle of ratchets 65 is disposed on an end face of the bottom end of the clutch member 60. The clutch member 60 fits over the main handle 30 above the holding sleeve 40. The engaging section 62 of the clutch member is engaged with the fitting section 32 of the main handle 30. When rotating the main handle 30, the clutch member 60 is driven by and rotated about the main handle 30. The clutch member 60 is longitudinally movable along the main handle 20. In normal state, the clutch member 60 will naturally drop due to gravity. In this case, the ratchets 65 of the clutch member 60 will engage with the ratchets 42 of the holding sleeve 40 as shown in FIG. 8.

The restriction member 70 is disposed at a juncture between the clutch member and the holding sleeve. The restriction member 70 only permits the clutch member to move relative to the holding sleeve by a small distance without substantially detaching from the holding sleeve. In this embodiment, the restriction member is a cylindrical restriction collar 70 having a shoulder section 72 on an inner circumference of the restriction collar 70. The restriction collar 70 is fitted around the outer circumference of the clutch member 60 and screwed on a thread 44 formed on an outer circumference of a top end of the holding sleeve 40. The shoulder section 72 of the restriction collar 70 is spaced from the annular rib 64 of the clutch member 60 by a gap. When the clutch member 60 is moved upward, the annular rib 64 is stopped by the shoulder section 72 of the restriction collar 70 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8. Accordingly, the clutch member 60 can be moved along the main handle by a short distance without detaching from the holding sleeve. Preferably, the top end of the clutch member extends out of the restriction collar by a certain length, which is not limited to the length as shown in the drawings.

In use, the holding sleeve 40 is moved toward the bottom end of the main handle 30 to suspend the mop cloth 50 as shown in FIG. 2 for mopping a ground.

Referring to FIG. 9, when wringing the mop cloth 50, a user can hold the main handle 30 with one hand (such as right hand) and hold the holding sleeve 40 with the other hand (such as left hand) to move the holding sleeve 40 upward along the main handle 30 and straighten the mop cloth 50. Then, the holding sleeve 40 and the main handle 30 are rotated relative to each other. For example, the main handle is counterclockwise rotated to wring the mop cloth 50. In normal state, the ratchets 65 of the clutch member 60 are engaged with the ratchets 42 of the holding sleeve 40 as shown in FIG. 8. The fitting section 32 of the main handle 30 is correspondingly engaged with the engaging section 62 of the clutch member 60. Therefore, when rotating the main handle 30, the clutch member 60 is driven by and rotated about the main handle 30. Each time the clutch member 60 is rotated by one pitch, the clutch member 60 clicks one time. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, during one-pitch rotation of the main handle, the ratchets 65 of the clutch member 60 will slide over the ratchets 42 of the holding sleeve 40, whereby the clutch member 60 will first move upward and then drop down back into the state of FIG. 8. At this time, the two circles of ratchets 42, 65 will engage with each other again. Under such circumstance, the clutch member 60 is chucked with the holding sleeve 40 and cannot be clockwise backward rotated. In this case, the main handle cannot be clockwise rotated. We can say that the ratchets of the clutch member 60 are engaged with and disengaged from the ratchets of the holding sleeve 40 in an alternate manner. The clutch member 60 rumbles up and down along the main handle when the main handle 30 is rotated in one direction, which is counterclockwise in this case. The main handle 30 is prevented from rotating back in an opposite direction, which is clockwise in this case, when the clutch member 60 is engaged with the holding sleeve 40. Accordingly, when the main handle is released from the hand, the pulling force of the mop cloth cannot drive the main handle to rotate back. Therefore, when wringing the mop cloth 60, the main handle 30 is prevented from rotating back and the user can conveniently further rotate the main handle. During the wringing process, the clutch member 60 will continuously rumble up and down to provide clutch effect.

Please refer to FIG. 11. After the wringing process is completed, the clutch member 60 is moved upward to disengage the circle of ratchets 42 from the circle of ratchets 65. Under such circumstance, the holding sleeve 40 is disengaged from the clutch member 60 and the main handle can be freely rotated relative to the holding sleeve to restore the mop cloth 50 to its original state.

Please now refer to FIG. 4. The top end of the clutch member 60 can be formed with two splits 69, which divide the top end of the clutch member 60 into two resilient plates 67. The resilient plates 67 can be resiliently biased toward each other, whereby the top end of the clutch member can be resiliently expanded or contracted. A binding collar 75 is rotatably fitted around the resilient plates 67 as shown in FIG. 6. Two protruding blocks 76 are eccentrically disposed on an inner circumference of the binding collar 75 as shown in FIG. 4. When rotating the binding collar 75 in one direction, the protruding blocks 76 will press the resilient plates 67 tightly against the main handle. Accordingly, when not used, a user can tightly bind the clutch member 60 on the main handle in a suitable position. When the binding collar 75 is rotated in an opposite direction, the binding collar releases the resilient plates to unbind the resilient plates 67 from the main handle. In this case, the clutch member 60 can be moved along the main handle. When the clutch member 60 is bound on the main handle as shown in FIG. 11, the annular rib 64 of the clutch member 60 is hooked with the shoulder section 72 of the restriction collar 70. Under such circumstance, the holding sleeve 40 is located on the main handle with the clutch member without dropping.

The position where the ratchets 42, 65 are arranged is not limited to the position as shown in FIG. 8. The ratchets 42, 65 can be arranged in any other position where the clutch member can be engaged with the holding sleeve. For example, FIG. 12 shows a second embodiment according to the present invention, in which the ratchets 82 are disposed on an end face of the top end of the holding sleeve 80, while the ratchets 95 are disposed on an outer circumference of the bottom end of the clutch member. Preferably, the ratchets 95 are positioned under a bottom face of the annular rib 94. According to the second embodiment, the bottom end of the clutch member can be engaged with the top end of the holding sleeve to provide the same clutch effect as the first embodiment.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show a third embodiment of the mop 100 of the present invention, in which the clutch member 140 is made with a shorter length. The binding collar 160 is fitting over the top end of the clutch member 140 as a large-diameter section with a larger diameter. A circle of ratchets 122 is disposed on the end face of the top end of the holding sleeve 120, while another circle of ratchets 142 is disposed under the bottom face of the annular rib 144 of the clutch member 140. The thread 152 of the restriction collar 150 is screwed on the thread 124 of the holding sleeve 120. Accordingly, when rotating the restriction collar 150, the restriction collar 150 is longitudinally movable along the holding sleeve, which means the restriction collar 50 is up and down moved along the axis of the holding sleeve. Please refer to FIGS. 15 and 16. When the clutch member drops to a lowest position where the two circles of ratchets 122, 142 are engaged, the distance D between the bottom end of the binding collar 160 and the restriction collar 150 is smaller than a displacement distance H of the restriction collar 150 along the holding sleeve 120.

After the main handle 110 and the holding sleeve 120 are relatively turned to wring dry the mop cloth 130, a user can unscrew the restriction collar 150 to move the same upward as shown in FIG. 17. Under such circumstance, the restriction collar 150 will push the binding collar 160 upward to drive and move the clutch member 140 upward by a short distance. In this case, the two circles of ratchets 122, 142 are disengaged from each other, whereby the main handle 110 can be freely rotated. Accordingly, the pulling force of the mop cloth 130 can drive and turn back the main handle 110 and the mop cloth can restore to its original state. Therefore, it is unnecessary to manually turn back the main handle. After the mop cloth is restored, the restriction collar is again screwed and tightened.

Referring to FIG. 17, with the restriction collar 150 remaining screwed on the holding sleeve 120, the clutch member can be lifted. The thread 124 of the holding sleeve 120 and the thread 152 of the restriction collar 150 can be formed with greater slope, (that is, larger pitch). In this case, after the restriction collar 150 is rotated by about ¼ or ½ circle, the restriction collar can be quickly moved from the position of FIG. 16 to the position of FIG. 17.

In use of the present invention, during the wringing process of the mop cloth, the main handle is prevented from being rotated back due to the pulling force of the mop cloth. Therefore, the present invention can be more conveniently used. Also, the present invention has simple structure and thus is easy to manufacture.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the present invention, not intended to limit the scope thereof. Many modifications of the above embodiments can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. 

1. An anti-turn-back twist mop comprising: a main handle; a holding sleeve fitting over the main handle, and moving longitudinally along and rotating about the main handle, wherein the holding sleeve includes a circle of ratchets disposed at a top end thereof; a mop cloth having a first end connected with a bottom end of the holding sleeve and a second end connected with a bottom end of the main handle; a clutch member being cylindrical, which is fitting over, moving longitudinally along, driven by and rotated about the main handle; wherein the clutch member includes a circle of ratchets disposed at a bottom end thereof and engaging with the corresponding ratchets of the top end of the holding sleeve; whereby the ratchets of the clutch member are engaged with and disengaged from the ratchets of the holding sleeve in an alternate manner and the clutch member rumbles up and down along the main handle when the main handle is rotated in one direction; the main handle is prevented from rotating back in an opposite direction when the clutch member is engaged with the holding sleeve; and a restriction member disposed between the clutch member and the holding sleeve, whereby the restriction member only permits the clutch member to move relative to the holding sleeve along the main handle by a small distance.
 2. The twist mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the clutch member has an annular rib disposed on an outer circumference thereof; the restriction member is a restriction collar having a shoulder section disposed on an inner circumference thereof, and a bottom end connected with the outer circumference of the top end of the holding sleeve, the restriction member is fitted around the outer circumference of the clutch member, and the shoulder section is positioned above the annular rib of the clutch member.
 3. The twist mop as claimed in claim 2, wherein the clutch member has a top end extending out of the restriction member.
 4. The twist mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the main handle includes a fitting section disposed on the outer circumference thereof; the clutch member has an engaging section disposed on the inner circumference thereof, the engaging section of the clutch member is engaged with the fitting section of the main handle.
 5. The twist mop as claimed in claim 3, wherein the main handle includes a fitting section disposed on the outer circumference thereof; the clutch member has an engaging section disposed on the inner circumference thereof, the engaging section of the clutch member is engaged with the fitting section of the main handle.
 6. The twist mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circle of ratchets of the clutch member is disposed on an end face of the bottom end of the clutch member, and the circle of ratchets of the holding sleeve is disposed on a circumference of the holding sleeve.
 7. The twist mop as claimed in claim 4, wherein the circle of ratchets of the clutch member is disposed on an end face of the bottom end of the clutch member, and the circle of ratchets of the holding sleeve is disposed on a circumference of the holding sleeve.
 8. The twist mop as claimed in claim 5, wherein the circle of ratchets of the clutch member is disposed on an end face of the bottom end of the clutch member, and the circle of ratchets of the holding sleeve is disposed on a circumference of the holding sleeve.
 9. The twist mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circle of ratchets of the clutch member is disposed on a circumference of the clutch member, and the circle of ratchets of the holding sleeve is disposed on an end face of the top end of the holding sleeve.
 10. The twist mop as claimed in claim 2, wherein the circle of ratchets of the clutch member is positioned under a bottom face of the annular rib, and the circle of ratchets of the holding sleeve is disposed on an end face of the top end of the holding sleeve.
 11. The twist mop as claimed in claim 4, wherein the circle of ratchets of the clutch member is disposed on a circumference of the clutch member, and the circle of ratchets of the holding sleeve is disposed on an end face of the top end of the holding sleeve.
 12. The twist mop as claimed in claim 5, wherein the circle of ratchets of the clutch member is disposed on a circumference of the clutch member, and the circle of ratchets of the holding sleeve is disposed on an end face of the top end of the holding sleeve.
 13. The twist mop as claimed in claim 3, wherein the top end of the clutch member is resiliently expandable and contractible; and further including: a binding collar rotatably fitted around the top end of the clutch member, whereby when rotating the binding collar in one direction, wherein the binding collar tightly binds the top end of the clutch member on the main handle.
 14. The twist mop as claimed in claim 3, wherein the top end of the clutch member has at least two resilient plates, which are resiliently biased toward each other; and further including: a binding collar rotatably fitted around the resilient plates of the clutch member and including at least one protruding block disposed on an inner circumference thereof, whereby when rotating the binding collar in one direction, the protruding blocks press the resilient plates against the main handle to tightly bind the top end of the clutch member on the main handle.
 15. The twist mop as claimed in claim 1, wherein the restriction member is longitudinally movable along the holding sleeve by a displacement distance, and the clutch member includes a large-diameter section disposed on an outer circumference of the clutch member, wherein the large-diameter section is in a position higher than the restriction member and comes into a distance between the large-diameter section and the restriction member, the distance is smaller than the displacement distance of the restriction member, the restriction member touches the large-diameter section to drive and move the clutch member upward when the restriction member is moved upward, whereby the ratchets of the holding sleeve are disengaged from the ratchets of the clutch member.
 16. The twist mop as claimed in claim 15, wherein the restriction member is a collar member screwed on the outer circumference of the top end of the holding sleeve; the bottom end of the clutch member extends into the restriction member.
 17. The twist mop as claimed in claim 16, wherein the clutch member includes an annular rib disposed on the outer circumference thereof; the restriction member has a shoulder section disposed on the inner circumference thereof and positioned above the annular rib of the clutch member.
 18. The twist mop as claimed in claim 15, wherein the top end of the clutch member is resiliently expandable and contractible; and further including: a binding collar served as the large-diameter section and fitted around the top end of the clutch member.
 19. The twist mop as claimed in claim 15, wherein the circle of ratchets of the clutch member is disposed on an end face of the bottom end of the clutch member, and the circle of ratchets of the holding sleeve is disposed on a circumference of the holding sleeve.
 20. The twist mop as claimed in claim 15, wherein the circle of ratchets of the clutch member is disposed on a circumference of the clutch member, and the circle of ratchets of the holding sleeve is disposed on an end face of the top end of the holding sleeve. 